All alone by herself, a snow-white and crimson-streaked hedgehog sat in the center of her couch as she was buried deep in her thoughts. Her stomach was filled to the brim with butterflies, she was anxious and could not find a way to calm it down at all. As a product of cloning, she was in disbelief that her body was capable of serving the same functions as a traditionally born Möbian. What started as a fun— yet sad— idea quickly turned into a shocking revelation about herself; despite her biological origins and the nature surrounding it, she was fully capable of bearing a child.
Unsure of how her boyfriend would react to the surprising turn of events, Sarah Fay could only wait for Katorasu Naitosutoka, who had been gone for a bit by now; earlier in the morning, the vigilante had left for a morning patrol of the city, just to make sure nothing was going on before dedicating the rest of the day towards the telekinetic female. With the time she had all to herself though, Sarah had spent it on going back and forth between the idea that Kato wouldn’t be alright with raising a child soon or that he actually would be thrilled to have a kid with his beloved girlfriend.
Everything was moving so fast for her it seemed, she wondered if that feeling would be shared with the nephalem. In all honesty though, she was only worried because with their relationship there was no higher form of commitment, other than the feelings they had for each other— they weren’t married yet and even that seemed to be beyond the horizon currently. With a tired sigh, she resigned herself to just waiting for her emerald-streaked boyfriend.
As luck would have it though, she didn’t have to wait long at all, a muffled voice and a knock at the door had caused her to stand up from her seat. At first, Sarah was a bit hesitant to start moving, even though she knew it was now or never if it was Katorasu at the door; approaching the door, she could tell that it was his muffled voice that tried to call for her through the door. Having taken a deep breath, Sarah undid the locks to her front door and opened it up for the nephalem on her front doorstep
The first thing her eyes landed on was perfectly white teeth, exposed in a sheepish smile as the owner apologized for keeping the female waiting, “Sorry, hun! I actually ran into something— on the way back here too! Can you believe it?” Katorasu was quick to take off his coat, stepping into his girlfriend's house with a strut in his step.
“It’s no problem, love, I’m happy as long as I at least get to see you safe and sound by the end of the day,” Her tail softly wagged out of happiness, she truly meant what she said as she followed close behind the nephalem, who moved over to the couch to have a sit-down.
Crossing one leg over the other, Katorasu was getting all nice and comfy as he nestled himself into the cushiony back of the couch, “Anyways, I don’t wanna bore you with all the details— it’s just the same old stuff— how was your day? Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?” The nephalem sat up, with full intention to listen to what Sarah had to say to him, if there was anything.
Not sure how to start, as she was still a bit worried about how this would affect them both, Sarah slowly took a seat beside her lover. Taking in a deep breath, as she tried to find a way to explain herself as best she could, “I… I know we talked about this a bit before… and we just assumed that I couldn’t but… I… I don’t… I don’t know how to tell you this… I’m pregnant.”
Her ears folded back, she couldn’t help but feel her dread begin to swallow her up as she awaited Katorasu’s response. Even she couldn’t explain these negative feelings, at least not beyond that which hid in her mind and borrowed soul. Her relationship with Katorasu was lacking in any conflict— thankfully, of course— and the black hedgehog only provided the best for her, he never lashed out at her for anything— perhaps the sudden news would change that, she hoped that wouldn’t be the case.
Pulling Sarah away from her thoughts, the vigilante softly placed his hand on the telekinetic’s leg, the two mates locked eyes with each other as Katorasu spoke to her sincerely, “Hun… are you sure? It’s not a false positive?”
She nodded her head, the female’s quills slightly bobbed with the movements, “I checked multiple times, even using different brands… I’m sure of it.”
At first, a small chuckle left Katorasu before a grin crept upon his lips, he wasn’t sure what to say as he rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m gonna be a dad… wow…” He quietly spoke to himself, the hero was caught blindsided by the news but didn’t seem to be upset.
“You’re… not upset?” Sarah’s ears perked up a little, she figured that all her worrying was for nothing, which in turn made her feel incredibly bothered by that now.
Katorasu— quickly shaking his head to emphasize his response— reassured his beloved girlfriend, “Nope, in fact, I’m excited! I would’ve been happy just adopting, but this is great news!” His citrine eyes glistened, that grin on his face became a wide smile now; however, something suddenly clicked in his head, “Wait, why would I be upset about you being pregnant?”
Honestly, what a good question that was. Sarah just couldn’t find a good enough answer, no matter how hard she tried, though that wasn’t a bad thing entirely as it just made her realize how there was never a need to worry. With an embarrassed laugh, the snow-white hedgehog could only answer with, “I’m not sure, maybe it’s because we’re not married yet, and having a child would just be… too fast for us?”
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” Katorasu replied rather sheepishly, now placing both feet on the floor of his girlfriend’s home, “I’ve been thinking about that a lot— us getting married, moving in together— but I’m holding out for the perfect time; when everything is all nice and quiet, nothing to worry about while I wait for you at the end of the aisle,” He admitted, sounding a bit disappointed with himself over his choice on delaying such a powerful form of commitment, “I talked about this with the others, they said they don’t mind acting as bodyguards for the wedding while we tie the knot; even then, I can’t help but think that someone might try something on our special day.” As he finished his small vent, the nephalem leaned forward in his seat again.
Gently, Sarah rubbed his back lovingly as her heart was genuinely warmed by that confession, “Honey… don’t worry about trying to set up our wedding; you’re right, it’s supposed to be special, so let’s not rush into it— we do have a baby on the way after all.” She lovingly said, leaning into the vigilante as he sat back up with a soft smile on his lips.
“Right, focus on the kiddo first,” He chuckled softly, caressing the snow-white hedgehog’s head. After pondering to himself for a second though, Katorasu began to run his fingers through Sarah’s quills as he asked her, “What are we gonna name the first one?”
Caught a little by surprise with his word choice there, Sarah curiously looked up at the ebony hedgehog, she was unsure if she heard him properly, “You want another one?” She didn’t object to the idea but was just surprised by how open he was to potentially more, especially since their first child together would be an unplanned one.
“I mean, why not? Two sounds like a good number anyways, also I don’t mind whatever combo of kids we wind up with, I’ll love ‘em both no matter what!” Katorasu had responded, rather chipperly too when thinking about the prospect of being a father of two at the least.
Thinking back on his question now, Sarah wasn’t sure of what to call their first child; in all fairness, she was busy with the fact that she was able to have a child in the first place, she didn’t even think about what to call their son or daughter, “I’m thinking… a name that has a meaning,” She began, her eyes not looking at anything in particular as she thought about potential names, “You got any good ones like in Japanese, Kato?” Typically the female hedgehog didn’t call her mate by his well-known name, but she felt it was right to mention his most-used name and the language it was in at the same time.
Visibly, it was clear that the nephalem was giving some thought about a name; eventually, he figured out a name that might be good for a boy, “If we get a boy, how does the name Tadaaki sound? It means ‘light’ and some other stuff, all of that reminds me of his mom.”
“Tadaaki… I like it!” Sarah looked up at her lover, their eyes locking with each other, she simply loved the way the name rolled off of the tongue.
Nuzzling into the woman he loved, Katorasu held her closer to his body as he softly replied, “Tadaaki it is, I got nothing for a girl though.” He laughed, rather shyly too.
Giggling with her boyfriend, she now felt a lot more at peace with her emotions; snuggling into Katorasu’s warm embrace, Sarah couldn’t help but close her eyes and imagine the life that they would have with this new child, how much they would love, provide, and care for them throughout their life. It was rather exciting, to the point where it made her anxious, though it wasn’t the bad kind. With all that in mind though, she was happy that she would be able to give that child that which she never had in her early years: love.
It was made far better though, simply because she would have Katorasu by her side. No one else in the world could take his place, she knew that the nephalem would just be the perfect father. As Sarah continued to snuggle up against Kato, she opened her eyes, ready to make those dreams into reality.
